BlackBerry director thinks the company can survive as a niche player

BlackBerry has been struggling to compete on the smartphone market over the last several years. The company is doing so bad that many have the once incredibly popular smartphone maker on death watch. Recently BlackBerry director Bert Nordberg said in an interview that he believes the company can survive as a “niche player” in the smartphone market.

However, Nordberg did say that there are “subsets within the company that it can get rid of.” However, he stopped short of naming any specific subsets that the company might sell or outlining any strategic partnerships in the works. The director said he believes that BlackBerry has value in some areas such as enterprise business, harbor functionality, and secure communications.

Nordberg also says that BlackBerry has to work on the huge difference between its value on paper and how Wall Street currently values the company.

Nordberg told the WSJ:

I think BlackBerry is able to survive as a niche company. But being a niche company means deciding to be a niche company. Historically, BlackBerry has had larger ambitions. But battling giants like Apple, and Samsung is tough.

BlackBerry continues to struggle and Nordberg’s comments are the first comments that have been heard from a major executive since the company announced the formation of a special board committee to explore strategic options. That board committee is also specifically including the possibility of an outright sale.